Radiator



April 34, l931 P. P. HENSHALL 1,800,448

RADIATOR- Filed Jan. 25, 1927 Patented Apr. 14, 1931rk UNITED ls'nvres PERCIVAL P. HENSHALL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T JOHN J..

PATENTi OFFICE NESBITT IN C., OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY RADIATOR Application filed January 25, 1927. Serial No. 163,386.

lhis invention relates to radiators and more particularly what I ter-m an anti-trap radiator employing Iins or plates as the heat conducting surface as opposed to cast iron, 25 sectional or stack type radiators now commonly in use.

One of the objects of my'inventon is to provide a radiator in which the ins or plates are forced on the heat conducting tube or lo pipe under such high pressure as to be practically fused therewith.

v Another object of my invention is to provide a radiator in which a single, seamless copper tube is e uipped with a series of contiguous, spaced s or plates pushed on the surface of the said tube under suchhigh pressure as to cause the metal to fuse thus preventing any possibility of heat loss at the juncture or union of the metals and also .20 equally distributing the heat uniformly over the entire surface area of the said ins or plates.

A continued object of my invention is to.

` provide a iin or plate like radiator construct- `ed and arranged so that the heat conducting medium, such as steam for instance, will flow 'directly through thev tube in one direction '.only, minimizing surface friction and obviating condensation as ,opposed to that class of radiators employing two or more tubes or pipes for the circulation of the heat conducting medium.

A further object of my invention is to conv struct a radiator of the n or plate like type embodying but a single heat conducting tube or pipe for the heating fluid or medium, be-

ing constructed and arranged to possess thev efliciency of the cast iron type radiator but considerably lighter in weight, smaller in size and capable of use in equipment employing a natural or artificial draft of air to be preheated before its` discharge into a given area.

It is well known that aside from the great Weight and large size of radiators, one of the common faults and objections'is the fact that unless they are carefully set, thereis likely to be pounding or hammering as theresult of entrained water'.- This is commonly referred to as a trap in the radiator. Consequently, in nearly all types of radiators of thls class, in which two or more heat conducting tubes are employed, eXtreme care must be taken in the set-ting of the radiator.

so that the condensation will liow to the return end. The radiator manufacturer usually pitches his tube in the direction of the flow of steam and in a radiator where the steam must. fiow in two different directions,

rst throughout the length of the radiator y y radiator, if the floors settle after the radiator has been positioned, there is still the trouble of.trapping causing the radiators to pound and hammer. Furthermore, in those instances where the steam must enter a radiator at one end, circulate to vthe other end, turn through a bend in the pipe and come back to the kstarting point to complete the circulation, there is 'the apparent Y'disadvantage by reason of vsurface friction of the passing steam through the short bend which objection can only be obviated when the steam is caused to travel in a straight line. It will therefore be seen that any deviation from a straight line travel of the steam through the radiator will tend to destroy the ideal condition of uniform temperature throughout all surface areas. Consequently, in a single tube construction, the possibility of the radiator being partly cold, or colder at one point than another is avoided.

In any system of steam circulation and parcapable of withstanding high pressure.

in the middle of the radiator. The tubes prevent proper circulation, greatly reduce the capacity and lower the eiiciency of the heating medium. It has also been discovered that where thermostatic traps are used on the re turn system with radiators having two or more tubes or pipes that there is always the possibility ofthe steam rushing through one of -these pipes to the return end of the radiator closing off the therinostatic trap'before the steam has circulated through the other tubes.

To those skilled in the art, the above objections and others have long been regarded as problems in heat exchange. To enable Others to fully understand and appreciate my invention, its construction, the results desired and obtained, as Well as the elimination of many of the objections heretofore experienced in radiator construction, refer ence is had to the accompanyingJ drawing showing a preferred embodiment of my invention in which Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the radiator construction.

Fig. 2 is a side view.

Fig. 3 is an end view with thecentral tube in section.

Fig. t is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, 5 designates a seamless, steam or fluid conducting, copper tube of substantial thickness and The ends 6, 7 are provided with standard pipe threads whereby connection may be made to any inlet and outlet of a steam or hot water system. On the tube 5 and between the threaded ends thereof, there are provided a series of thin, copper iins 8, each having a central opening and flange 9 and a top and bottom flanges 10, 11, said flanges being arranged in contiguous and abutting relation providing a uniform air space l2 between the adjacent body portions of the said fins. The outer or top and bottom flanges 10, 11, consi-deringtheside view shown by Fig. 2, thus permits a natural or artificial volume of air to pass horizontally between the fins. By rotating or turning the tube 5 and its ins ninety degrees, it permits a verticle flow of air through the radiator.

Since the heat of the conducting medium passing through the central tube 5, for instance steam, lnust be conducted to the fin surface without loss, I have discovered that the most efficient and ideal method of joining the inner iiange 9 of the said fins to the outer surface of the central tube 5 is by fusion under very high pressure. The fins are therefore pushed on the copper tubeA and the said flange brought into such intimate contact with the surface of the tube by the high pressure that the metal unites to produce a seamless connection. The adjacent inner flanges are brought into abuttin and contacting relation so that when force and in the above manner is equivalent in efficiency to two or more tubes or pipes of the same diameter employing the same size fin. In other words, the efiiciency obtained in fusing the fins on to the tube or pipe is equal to any other more complicated method or practice employed having the same surface radiation.

The'main advantage derived however in employing a single tube is that steam may enter from the steam supply at one end and pass directly through the tube to the steam return on the other end so that the heating medium flows in a direct line, moves in the same direction when it becomes condensate, water, and reduces surface friction to the minimum. By reason of the contact between the tube and the copper fins, I am able to obtain the same result with steam passing through a single tube than has heretofore been obtained by passing steam through lengths of tubing, two or more times. Obviously, there is a great saving of material and a reduction in weight of the completed radiator. The use of a single seamless copper tube results in the elimination of all jolnts, unions or couplings thereby obviating possible leakage. The threaded connection at both ends of the tube permits the radiator to be installed in practically any system, requiring no more additional fittings than would be necessary in placing a single piece of straight pipe inthe line. Being a single straight tube without bends of any kind, with both ends open, regardless of the position of the radiator the water cannot be entrained. This is true even if the return end is higher than the feed since the steam would be free to flow in one direction and the condensate in the vopposite direction and out through the feed connection. A radiator 'of this type lends itself. very readily to installation on what is commonly known as the one pipe system vof steam circulation for the reason that the steam is free to iiow in one direction while the condensate can flow in the opposite direction, all of which is provided for without danger of the water becoming entrained. Furthermore, the radiator is equally adapted for use without alteration for either vertical or horiz'ontal flow of a natural or artificial draft of air between the fins whereas in most radiator construction, the direction of flown of air through the radiator must be designated 1n advance of its construction.

By reason of itssimplicity in constructlon, convenient assembly of parts, rigidity, maxiserve the right to make such changes and al,

mum eiciency, low cost of manufacture, lightness 1n Weight, reduction 1n size and unlversality of uses in heating equipment, my

invention becomes readily accessible and most desirable in overcoming objections heretofore pointed out WhileI have shown and described the construction with some degree of particularity, I realize that various minorchanges in the details pointed out may be made. I therefore do not wish to be limited or restricted to the exact form shown but reterations as may fall within the scope of the subject inatterbeing claimed.

Having shown and described my invention what I now claimas new and desire to secure 'by Letters Patent is: A radiator consisting of a single Huid conducting straight tube having an inlet and an outlet for direct connection in' a heating system; Ia series of closely spaced rectangular' .fins each having a'central opening and a surrounding flange fixed to vthe circumference of said tube; said fins having flanges of the same height as the central ianges and in Contact relation with each other along opposite sides thereof, whereby a volume of air may bedirected between rections.

Iny testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

f PERCIVAL P. I-IENSHALL.

said fins in two different di- 

